My relationship with vintage and sewing goes a long way back. I picked up sewing from a dressmaking course in a community centre way back in early 2010, and my first project ever was a basic shirt in a vintage shabby-chic floral fabric. Back then, I was already deviating towards vintage style, but was still not sure of what I was going for.

Months turned to years, and my style and understanding of sewing developed (albeit slowly). The turning point came when I made my best dress to date in 2012 – the Edith dress. It’s a sweet pastel green dress made with the vintage 1960 reproduction pattern Butterick 6582. In that same year, I found happiness with mid-century style. Since then, many of my sewing projects evolved around the 40s (e.g., the Rosie), 50s (e.g., the Green Gingham), and 60s (e.g., the Mondrian).

So how is it possible that this is the first time I’m taking part in the Vintage Pledge? Honestly, I never knew about the Vintage Pledge until I chanced upon a tweet by Marie from Stitching Odyssey recently. Yes, this is the beauty of social media (and the use of hashtags).

I have been struggling with being consistent with my sewing for the past few years. If you check out my sewing posts on this blog, you will notice that I have been sewing (and posting about my sewing) very sporadically in the last 5 years. I could write down a long list of reasons for not keeping up with my sewing and my blog, but that won’t be helpful at all.

Never mind the years I have lost and not spent on sewing, because this is the year that I will finally come out of a creative rut and find my sewing mojo again. And I think making this pledge will really help in this regard. So here, ladies and gentlemen, is my Vintage Pledge for 2017:

“For the year 2017, I pledge to sew (at least) an item each for the purpose of home, work, play, and party. I will use a pattern from a different era for each project, and I will use a different type of fabric for each project.”

I’m hoping that in sewing different projects for the home, work, play, and party, each from a different era, I will be able to continue to explore my style, and develop a sense of sewing identity in my different areas of life. More importantly, I want to explore and learn about techniques needed for working with different types of fabric. Yes, it’s time I start moving away from weaved, stable fabrics!

Here’s a look at some of the patterns that I will be using:

The vintage 1940’s McCall sewing pattern is actually a birthday present from a dear friend this year. ❤

I am still in the early stages of planning these sewing projects, and I can’t wait to share more with everyone once I have some concrete ideas for these projects. I’m so excited!

Are you also taking part in the Vintage Pledge? Let me know what you’re making! I’d love to have a look at the patterns that you have. x